Once hanging static in a wardrobe or folded away in a trunk, in recent times clothes have found themselves thrown into the spotlight. The crowds that are drawn to large scale fashion exhibitions staged with increasing frequency in galleries and museums around the world offer glimpses into the meaning that we attach to these items of clothing. Apart from their aesthetic value, clothes have the ability to evoke issues of identity, of the relation of self to body and self to the world. We are able to find ourselves through the experiences of delving into our wardrobes and remembering. Clothes are thus layered with meaning since they have the power to act as memory prompts. Woven into their fabric are traces of past experiences; stitched into their seams are links to people we have loved and lost. Viewed as visual objects, clothing is not frivolous, flippant or foolish. In telling and talking about clothes, we reveal much about ourselves, our lives and the experiences that we drape around our bodies. Whether bought or handmade, passed down or reconstructed, clothes help us to construct meaning as we remember those things in our lives that matter.

This 2001 interpretation of literature and arts reveals how clothing and costume were critical to Renaissance culture.

The New York Times–bestselling volume of mini-memoirs exploring the personal histories we carry in treasured articles of clothing—now a Netflix docuseries. Everyone has a memoir in miniature in at least one piece of clothing. In Worn Stories, Emily Spivack has collected over sixty of these clothing-inspired narratives from cultural figures and talented storytellers. First-person accounts range from the everyday to the extraordinary, such as artist Marina Abramovic on the boots she wore to walk the Great Wall of China; musician Rosanne Cash on the purple shirt that belonged to her father; and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley on the Girl Scout sash that informed her business acumen. Other contributors include Greta Gerwig, Heidi Julavits, John Hodgman, Brandi Chastain, Marcus Samuelsson, Piper Kerman, Maira Kalman, Sasha Frere-Jones, Simon Doonan, Albert Maysles, Susan Orlean, Andy Spade, Paola Antonelli, David Carr, Andrew Kuo, and more. By turns funny, tragic, poignant, and celebratory, Worn Stories offers a revealing look at the clothes that protect us, serve as a uniform, assert our identity, or bring back the past—clothes that are encoded with the stories of our lives.

Learn to incorporate treasured clothing into heirloom quilts without sacrificing your modern aesthetic. Stitch memories together forever with 12 quilt projects that are as meaningful as they are stylish! Modern heirloom quilter Suzanne Paquette shares the emotional, creative, and technical aspects of memory quilting through colorful storytelling and photography. Practical projects inspired by real families’ stories will help you celebrate love, provide comfort, and honor your family’s heritage. Create modern heirloom quilts! 12 exciting designs for memory keeping, with the stories that inspired them Learn tips for sewing with clothing to preserve the past and celebrate the future Make gifts for children, honor a lost loved one, and celebrate your family’s legacy “Susanne Parquette shows today’s quilters how to mix Modern with sentimental . . . The twelve quilts in the book are actual commissioned memory quilts made by Paquette, who includes the people and stories behind each quilt . . . Paquette walks us through the process, beginning with Memory Keeping: remembering, documenting, and perspective.” —The Literate Quilter

WINNER OF THE 2021 PEN ACKERLEY PRIZE 'A strange and mesmerising piece of work' Sunday Times 'An absolute masterpiece' Laura Cumming 'An uncommon delight' Observer Claire Wilcox has been a curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum for most of her working life. In Patch Work, she turns her curator's eye to the fabric of life itself, tugging at the threads of memory: a cardigan worn by a child, a tin button box, the draping of a curtain, a pair of cycling shorts, a roll of lace, a pin hidden in a seam. Through these intimate and compelling close-ups, we see how the stories and the secrets of clothes measure out the passage of time, our gains and losses, and the way we use them to unravel and write our histories. 'Effervescent, poetic, puzzle-like ... Wilcox picks at the heartstrings' Financial Times

This captivating book reproduces arguably the most extraordinary primary source documents in fashion history. Providing a revealing window onto the Renaissance, they chronicle how style-conscious accountant Matthäus Schwarz and his son Veit Konrad experienced life through clothes, and climbed the social ladder through fastidious management of self-image. These bourgeois dandies' agenda resonates as powerfully today as it did in the sixteenth century: one has to dress to impress, and dress to impress they did. The Schwarzes recorded their sartorial triumphs as well as failures in life in a series of portraits by illuminists over 60 years, which have been comprehensively reproduced in full color for the first time. These exquisite illustrations are accompanied by the Schwarzes' fashion-focussed yet at times deeply personal captions, which render the pair the world's first fashion bloggers and pioneers of everyday portraiture. The First Book of Fashion demonstrates how dress – seemingly both ephemeral and trivial – is a potent tool in the right hands. Beyond this, it colorfully recaptures the experience of Renaissance life and reveals the importance of clothing to the aesthetics and every day culture of the period. Historians Ulinka Rublack's and Maria Hayward's insightful commentaries create an unparalleled portrait of sixteenth-century dress that is both strikingly modern and thorough in its description of a true Renaissance fashionista's wardrobe. This first English translation also includes a bespoke pattern by TONY award-winning costume designer and dress historian Jenny Tiramani, from which readers can recreate one of Schwarz's most elaborate and politically significant outfits.

"An endearing story of loss and recovery, mystery and memory, heartache and love...completely captivating."—Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiffany Girls and The Colony Club A missing husband and a dress once owned by Princess Diana set two very different women on paths of discovery that will change both their lives forever in this dazzling new novel from the author of The Last Dress from Paris. England, 2018: Jayne is quiet. She keeps to herself and has no grand expectations for her days. But after a chance encounter with her elderly neighbor, Meredith, Jayne is forced to reevaluate her determination to keep the world at a distance. Meredith's dust-covered home is chaotic and neglected. And slowly, Jayne starts to grasp that Meredith herself is quite lost. She can't seem to remember anything: what she last ate, when she last went out or saw her daughter, or even Jayne's name, despite what are becoming frequent visits. But most alarmingly, Meredith can't remember where her husband is. Unable to sit by and watch Meredith hurting, Jayne promises she'll find William. But how can she when the biggest clue Jayne has is a mystery itself: a stunning couture gown with a note declaring it a personal gift to Meredith...from Princess Diana. England, 1988: Meredith is always calm. You have to be when working for one of the most iconic women in the world. Just as the stitches she uses to create Princess Diana’s wardrobe are steady and stable, so is Meredith. Until she finds herself feeling off-kilter and untethered by an unexpected connection with someone in the workshop. As Meredith finds herself swept up in life and love for the first time, everything she’s ever dreamed about seems in reach…if only she can be brave enough to take it. "A moving exploration into how clothes make up the layers of our lives, as well as a wonderful insight into the worlds of dressmaking, royalty and friendship across generations."—Jessica Fellowes, international bestselling author of The Mitford Murders